Furiously closing ground on a retreating Lake Travis Attackmen, sophomores Brennan Louviere ’19 and Joseph Schutz ’19 dislodge the ball from the opponents stick and scoop it off the carpet to move the ball to a streaking Hunter Bailey ’18, who soon buries the ball in the back of the Lake Travis net. A stifling defense that includes sophomore standout goalie William Moran ’19 with multiple double-digits save games and a fast-paced, high-intensity offense have helped propel the Junior Varsity Lacrosse team to an incredible 11-1 record.
This article provides an insight as to how the resilient Rangers bounced back from the first loss in over a year for the Junior Varsity squad by coming together not as a team, but as a family.
Lake Travis (Sunday, February 27, 2017)
The second leg of the team’s trip down to Austin proved to be much more competitive than their 16-0 rout of Westlake JV, yet the Rangers came ready to play and won 7-4 to close out the trip. Sophomore defensive middie Victor Zemanek ’19 felt like the win was a “total team effort” with the defense causing turnovers and the offense capitalizing on opportunities and possessing the ball.
Flower Mound (Thursday, March 9, 2017)
A rough first half of failed clears and missed opportunities found the Rangers in an uncomfortable situation being down by a score of 1-3 at the end of two-quarters, yet the young squad was eager to prove that they could pull a W out of this grisly situation. The Ranger offense got things going right away, controlling the faceoff game in the second half and denying Flower Mound offensive possessions sealed the deal for Ranger’s 5th win of the season.
Keller (Thursday, March 23, 2017)
Taking Postell Stadium for the first time since their loss to Plano West exactly one month ago, the Rangers were determined to send a message that they had turned things around. A superb effort by freshman Charlie Burkhart ’20 at the faceoff X and William Moran ’19 being a wall around the net helped catapult the Rangers to a dominating 12-3 win.
Southlake (Wednesday, March 29, 2017)
The Rangers clashed with the Dragons in a fast-paced, electrifying game that was gut-wrenching, to say the least. Neither team willing to give the other an inch, the contest went back and forth with big play after big play until sophomore Zach Rilley ’19 buried the final goal in the back of the net to seal the deal for the Rangers to walk away with the 5-4 win. Sophomore goalie William Moran ’19 added that although “they [Southlake] had a very athletic team, we knew that as long as we ran the offense” and communicated on the defensive side of the ball “we were never out of it, we just had to trust” each other to do the right thing.
Coppell (Friday, April 7, 2017)
Pelting the cage with numerous shots and moving the ball with haste, the JV Offense proved the star of the show on a warm Friday afternoon that saw the Rangers defeat the Coppell Cowboys 8-2. Junior Hunter Bailey ’18 proved himself as a gunslinger by shooting his way to a hat-trick, including a buzzer-beating goal to end the half. Sophomore attackman Zach Rilley ’19 was quick to commemorate a solid defense that “[got] the ball back quickly” and helped keep the flow of the game in the Ranger’s favor.
St. Marks (Friday, April 13, 2017)
After a rough start of unnecessary penalties and unforced turnovers kept saw the Rangers down at the end of the first quarter, the Rangers quickly matched the energy of St. Marks and overwhelmed the Lions en route to an 8-3 Win.
Highland Park (Friday, April 21, 2017)
The young Ranger offense led by sophomore attackman Dylan Topolski ’19 proved too much to handle for the Scots as they found themselves defending against a potent Jesuit offense for the majority of the game. When the Scots did manage to get the ball on Jesuit’s end, the defense refused to give an inch, helping secure a commanding 11-2 win for the Rangers.
ESD (Monday, April 24, 2017)
A quick schedule change found the Rangers facing the Eagles on a Monday, only four days after they played Highland Park. In a matchup of the top two JV squads in Texas, the Rangers suffered a rough first quarter that saw the ball in their defensive half for a good majority of the quarter. Entering the second quarter with a 1-3 deficit, the Rangers simply came alive and battled back to even the score at 4 entering halftime. The Ranger offense refused to quit and sophomore mid William Paredes scored the game-winning goal after repeated stops by a constricting and physical defensive effort by the Rangers to finish a fantastic season off with a fantastic win for the Rangers. Victor Zemanek ’19 added that “this was the most intense and unified we have ever been as a team. I am extremely proud of how far we have come and how hard we battled to get here”. The young Rangers finished the season strong as the number one team in Texas with a gritty 8-7 win over the Eagles.
Coming together as a cohesive unit, a family, was something that the Rangers learned is key to their success as a team throughout the year. A highly competitive group who may see some of its members move on to Varsity in the coming years, the JV Lacrosse team showed that it has what it takes to succeed against anyone.
